Teddington Athletic FC acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of every child and young person under the age of 18 engaged in the club’s football activity and is committed to working to provide a safe environment for all members. Teddington Athletic FC subscribes to The FA’s Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures and endorses and adopts the Policy Statement contained in that document. Teddington Athletic FC has a role to play in safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional harm and from neglect or bullying. This applies to everyone in football whether in a paid or voluntary capacity and includes volunteers, match officials, helpers on club tours, football coaches, club officials and medical staff.

2. The key principles of The FA Safeguarding Children Policy are that:

• the child’s welfare is the paramount consideration
• all children and young people have a right to be protected from abuse regardless of their age, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, faith or belief
• all suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
• working in partnership with other organisations, children and young people and their parents/carers is essential

3. Teddington Athletic FC endorses The FA’s Responsible Recruitment guidelines for recruiting volunteers and will:

• specify what the role is and what tasks it involves
• request identification documents
• as a minimum meet with the applicant(s) and where possible interview people before appointing them
• require all TAFC members working in eligible roles with children and young people to hold an FA accepted Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in line with current FA policy and regulations.
• If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of the club, guidance will be sought from The FA. It is accepted that The FA aims to prevent people with a history of relevant and significant offending from having contact with children or young people and the opportunity to influence policies or practice with children or young people.

4. Whistle Blowing Policy

Teddington Athletic FC supports The FA’s Whistle Blowing Policy. Any adult or young person with concerns about a adult in a position of trust with football can ‘whistle blow’ by contacting The FA Safeguarding Team on 0800 169 1863 or by emailing safeguarding@thefa.com or alternatively by contacting the police, Children’s Social Services or the NSPCC.

5. Bullying

Bullying of any kind is not acceptable at our club. If bullying does occur, all players or parents/carers should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly. Incidents need to be reported to the Club Welfare Officer in cases of serious bullying the County FA Welfare Officer may be contacted.

6. Respect codes of conduct for Players, Parents/Spectators, Officials and Coaches

The FA Respect codes of conduct have been adopted by Teddington Athletic FC. The club will take action regarding repeated or serious misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions possibly being implemented by the County FA in more serious circumstances.

7. Club Welfare Officer

Teddington Athletic FC has appointed a Club Welfare Officer in line with the FA’s role profile and required completion of the Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officers Workshop. The Club Welfare Officer is the first point of contact for all club members regarding concerns about the welfare of any child or young person. The Club Welfare Officer will liaise directly with the County FA (CFA) Welfare Officer and will be familiar with the procedures for referring any concerns.